Groundwork

Pets · County · New Jersey

Pet grooming and boarding businesses in Union County, NJ

How Union County, NJ compares with other counties and the U.S. for pet grooming and boarding businesses: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 63 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #405 of 1,461 scored counties
#6 of 21 scored counties in New Jersey

Listings
67
10 chain locations (15%)
Official establishments
37
+19.4% since 2019
Household spending a year
$159.3M
On pets · $783 a household
Spending per listing
$2.4M
7% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
3.3
8% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
601,863
+5.0% since 2020

See the pet grooming and boarding businesses around any address in Union County

The site report maps the pet grooming and boarding businesses on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of Union County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

As of September 2026, map listings count 67 pet grooming and boarding businesses in Union County. Of those, 10 are chain locations, or 15%, against 9% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 3.3, 8% below the U.S. rate of 3.6.

Households in Union County spend about $159.3M a year on pets, or $783 per household, 14% below the U.S. average. Spread across 67 pet grooming and boarding businesses, that is $2.4M per business, 7% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. That spending covers all pets, which pet grooming and boarding businesses share with other businesses in the trade.

Official counts show 37 businesses with payroll classed as pet care (except veterinary) in Union County in 2023, up 19.4% from 2019. That is one for every 5,494 households, against one for every 5,057 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $2.4M have gone to businesses classed as pet care (except veterinary) in Union County.

Population estimates show Union County grew 5.0% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). Union County scores 63 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for pet grooming and boarding businesses, ranking #405 of 1,461 scored counties and #6 of 21 scored counties in New Jersey.

How Union County compares

The same measures for New Jersey and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all pets by the pet grooming and boarding businesses counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.

Pet grooming and boarding in Union County, NJ compared with New Jersey and the U.S.
MeasureUnion CountyNew JerseyU.S.
Listings per 10k households3.33.33.6
Spending per listing$2.4M$2.3M$2.5M
Households per official establishment5,4944,9475,057
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+19.4%+18.4%+25.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025+5.0%+3.0%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$783$774$909
Median household income$103,202$103,556$80,734
Groundwork market score6343

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
31 → 37+19.4% over the period
Employees, 2023
280
Annual payroll, 2023
$7.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
6710 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
63The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
3
Amount
$2.4M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as pet care (except veterinary) in Union County, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.

Population and households in Union County

Population, 2025 estimate
601,863+5.0% since 2020
Households
203,277
Median age
39.6
Homes lived in by their owners
57%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
103 sq. mi.
People per square mile
5,637
Median household income
$103,202+28.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$149,596
Median home value
$529,200
Jobs located here
247,379
Daytime population
551,422Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Union County?

These figures cover the whole county. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the pet grooming and boarding businesses on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of Union County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Pet grooming and boarding across New Jersey

Every New Jersey market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in New Jersey for pet grooming and boarding businesses, numbered among those based in New Jersey, with Union County marked.

Top counties in New Jersey

Counties in New Jersey ranked for pet grooming and boarding businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Somerset County, NJ79403.1$3M+3.5%#77 of 1,461
2Essex County, NJ73511.6$4.4M+4.2%#145 of 1,461
3Middlesex County, NJ72772.5$3.2M+2.6%#178 of 1,461
4Cumberland County, NJ64101.9$3.2M+2.2%#374 of 1,461
5Hudson County, NJ63802.7$2.8M+1.8%#400 of 1,461
6Union County, NJ63673.3$2.4M+5.0%#405 of 1,461
7Mercer County, NJ56433.0$2.6M+3.3%#575 of 1,461
8Burlington County, NJ56633.6$2.2M+4.3%#580 of 1,461
9Camden County, NJ55603.0$2.3M+2.4%#603 of 1,461
10Salem County, NJ5262.4$2.7M+2.3%#674 of 1,461

Other business types in Union County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many pet grooming and boarding businesses are in Union County, NJ?

Union County has 67 pet grooming and boarding businesses on map listings as of September 2026. 10 of them (15%) are chain locations. The listings count groomers, boarding, dog daycare and pet sitters. Official counts show 37 businesses with payroll classed as pet care (except veterinary) in 2023, up 19.4% from 2019.

How much do households in Union County, NJ spend on pets?

About $159.3M a year, or $783 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 67 pet grooming and boarding businesses on map listings, it comes to $2.4M per business. The spending figure covers all pets, not only pet grooming and boarding businesses. It is estimated from the incomes of the 203,277 households in Union County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Union County, NJ compare with the U.S. for pet grooming and boarding businesses?

Union County has 3.3 pet grooming and boarding businesses per 10,000 households, 8% below the U.S. rate of 3.6. Spending per business is $2.4M, 7% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the national ratio of pet grooming and boarding businesses to household spending, Union County would have about 63, against 67 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 5,494 households, against one for every 5,057 across the U.S. The official count rose 19.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +25.2% for the U.S.

How fast is Union County, NJ growing?

Population estimates put Union County at 601,863 people in 2025, up 5.0% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 203,277 households. The median household income in Union County is $103,202 a year, 28% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 28.7% from the 2015–2019 survey, before inflation.

What is the Groundwork market score?

The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. Union County scores 63 for pet grooming and boarding businesses (upper middle), #405 of 1,461 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Union County. It maps the pet grooming and boarding businesses on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.

How the score works · Top markets for pet grooming and boarding businesses · All 56 business types in Union County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Union County?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

The button opens the report at the center of Union County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.